Six ways to increase your creativity

Creativity has never been more important, no matter what industry you’re in or product you are selling. It’s creative thinking and execution that will help your business stand out from the crowd and grow.

Think about it; Airbnb is just another accommodation booking tool, but it’s business model and easy to use app upended the travel industry. Likewise for Uber. It’s a service we’ve been using for decades, booking taxis, just delivered to us in an innovative way.

These are obviously huge multinational examples we’re throwing at you here, but there are some simple and very effective methods of helping to improve your creative thinking. Here are six of the best we have found as a business…

1. Walking

Did you know that something as simple as taking a walk has been proven to increase creativity six fold. Both Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs regularly held walking meetings.

2. Twitter

Summarise the problem in a Tweet. If you can’t articulate the issue you’re trying to solve or address in less than 140 characters, how are you or the creative team your briefing going to tackle it?

3. Don’t worry bout ‘how’

You know the one word that kills creativity? “But”. But nothing! Don’t worry about the minutiae of the execution, think big to begin with. You can always refine afterwards.

4. Playtime

Something as simple as introducing a few Lego pieces or pots of Play-Doh has been proven to  stimulate creativity. The simple task of building something from nothing with your hands is very powerful, plus you have to do this away from a screen/your desk which can be a very powerful tool when trying to take on a creative task.

5. Original is not the only way

If you’re striving for something that has never been done before, true originality, you’ll never get anywhere. The key is to make ideas that may have been done before seem fresh and new. Let us be clear – we’re not saying plagiarise or copy, not at all. But by all means take inspiration from what has come before.

6. Embrace chaos

Some of the biggest companies and products are results of mistakes or sheer happenstance. We’ve all heard how Champagne was a complete accident and did you know bubble wrap was never intended to be used for packaging? It was originally meant to be wallpaper. We kid you not!

In Summary

So in your next brainstorm session embrace some of these top tips. Get out of the office and have a walking meeting. Introduce Play-Doh or Lego into your next briefing. Don’t get bogged down in delivery methods or the details at the outset, embrace chaos and don’t dismiss an idea that might not be a true original.

You never know what creativity might be born out of trying something new and employing any of the above methods. Let us know how you get on and if you’re still struggling why not call in the experts?